Opera 8.5 Released Did I forget to say its freeware now ??

One of the main contenders to the title of "Fastest Browser in the world" Opera v 8.5 has been released. What makes this release so very joyous and eventful is that the Opera browser is now freeware !

That's right ! For all those of you who missed out on the registration code give-away a few weeks ago, rejoice... the full version is freeware and AD-free !



Before Firefox came along, Opera was my browser of choice but I had to contend with the AD banner which made me eager to switch to Firefox but I might have to rethink that following this news.


* Tabbed browsing
* Integrated search
* Pop-up blocking
* Fast Forward - allows you easily go to the next page in a sequence of pages!
* Password manager - (Bye Bye, AI Roboform!)
* Sessions - allows a user to save a group of pages to browse later
* Mouse gestures
* Notes - kept in conjunction with a Web site you want to refer to later
* Voice commands - You speak, Opera obeys!
* Security bar Opera displays security information inside the address bar, located next to the padlock icon that indicates the level of security present on a site.
* Encryption - Industry standard encryption technology embedded to ensure your credit card details don't go into the hands of the wrong people!
* Delete private data - Clear your history/cookies and other stuff in one click !
* M2 Opera mail - Opera's built-in POP/IMAP E-mail client is a combined e-mail program, news reader, mailing list organizer and RSS/Atom newsfeed reader.
* IRC chat
* Full Drag and drop Customization of buttons and search fields etc.
* Skins
* Small-screen mode - Marvellous if you don't have WAP access on your cell-phone but you need to download some wallpaper or cell-stuff via a WAP site
When displaying a page in small-screen mode (Shift+F11) you can see how it will look on a mobile phone or other small-screen device running Opera.

So the question that most people will ask once the euphoria dies down... How will the company survive if they're giving away their primary cash cow for free?

Answer: Premium Support and Opera browser for mobile phones and PDAs will still cost.


=== Opera Download Page ===

lol. This move is unexpected but since my streaming examinations are just round the corner (like less than two weeks? and I'm here slacking...), I'll stick to Mozilla for now. Afterall, given my past experiences with Opera, even with the ad banner which I really didn't mind at all is that it is simply too complicated for me like for example, the user interface. It still looks the same so it needs time getting used to. Haha, so much of giving away free registration codes when they're already giving out free version downloads in like the next month. Why not try Opera now if you're using Mozilla? You may like it and that's what I'll be doing.

I just saw this news on Neowin...It is a break news.They finally make it free and remove all the ad. banner.Without doubt, Opera is a very good browser.But they should make it earier.Now I am happy with my Firefox, don;t really want to change.and they just announces 'Merlin' as well.Merlin is their next version of Opera which will contain major modifications to user interface.They make it looks more simplerHope it will be released soon.It may bring the browser wars to a new stage. (IE 7, Merlin, Firefox 2).

I don't want to engage in debate than which is better between Opera/Firefox. But I will definately say that it is a very good move bu Opera makers. Opera is a good browser but they were lost behind because of Firefox which is free. This move will definalety intensify the Browser war in the computer world.happy browsing......

Come on Opera Users among you here, be honest ... how many of you did ever pay any money for using the 'non-free' version of Opera? Hu? Maybe they give their software away for free now, because almost noone has ever paid for it anyway.

Come on Opera Users among you here, be honest ... how many of you did ever pay any money for using the 'non-free' version of Opera?    Hu? Maybe they give their software away for free now, because almost noone has ever paid for it anyway. 

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If I had paid for it, would I been damn angry now! But happy gor me, I haven't.. This new version, is a bit better then the previous, almost only cos they removed the ads but.. But it is one thing I dont understand, everywhere, I see that people says Opera is faster than everything else, but on my PC, Firefox is the fastest browser... Nut I never tought they would remove the ads, tought that was the way they got money..

good news for me.. Opera always was my favourite browser. will download the newest version right now and enjoy teh "no ads" anyway, glad that they're making some free things nice one

Seems to me that the vast majority of the features you mentioned in that list are already in firefox. Granted, you have to get a few add-ons for some of the things (like the sessions-saving thing that reopens firefox as it was when it crashed on you or whatever).But it's good that they've finally gotten rid of licensing fees. The stupid ads were THE reason that I only used Opera for about five days (long, LONG before Firefox came out).

Well, lots of people bought it legally anyway, but of course more people found some serial numbers on google etc., i used firefox erlier, just because it was free and various extensions are really cool, but firefox software got really slow for me comapred to opera and now when it is without the ads and i have configured it as i want and made it the default browser, now i just can't browse with firefox because of the speed, but i still sometimes use it when i need to. Yeah, it came as a suprise for me too

this looks great to me , i used to use opera earlier but these days i m using mozilla now a days . opera had lot of ADDS in it and pop s add wee also there . the best part i liked in opera was its speed (it shows in kbps ) , the tabs which makes us easier , n the look . I was not have the registry key for it , but ny ways i am happy with mozilla now which works for me in a helpful manner Nyways great piece of information sparx

Well, I much prefer Opera to firefox, as it is so much faster, and, for me at least, a lot easier to use the way I want it.The only thing that annoys me is that I paid for my copy, but I won't get my money back now that it's free!!!

Well, I much prefer Opera to firefox, as it is so much faster, and, for me at least, a lot easier to use the way I want it.

 

The only thing that annoys me is that I paid for my copy, but I won't get my money back now that it's free!!!

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why do you prefer opera to firefox.  I thought firefox wax better than Opera.

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First, because, on my machine, it is faster than F/Fox.

Apart from that, it is less prone to faults, and I also prefer the overall look, although that is only of small concern.

And, it is less prone to being hacked, although I think that is due more to it's small user base than anything else.

Overall, it is, for me, just a better browser. If you haven't tried the new free version, I urge you to give it a go, you have nothing to lose, and possibly much to gain.

Yeah, that's real good news, finally free. Althought I was using Firefox (after Mozilla), Opera was always better - those cute Mouse gestures were the gift from heavens. I'm currently browsing in Opera 8.5, but I like changes so using also FF 1.5 beta.In my opinion if you could mix Opera and Firefox, it would be the ultimate browser - skinabble, extendable, mouse gestures and W3C standards everywhere. Don't know about you guys but picking between Opera and Firefox is like picking between vanilla and strawberry ice-cream. Both are sweet, both have special "features", but you always eat them together.